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Sunday, May 31, 2009

So Fashion Week Trinidad and Tobago is underway and so far the few reports we are getting in are mixed.

Basically in a nutshell - love the clothes, hate the congestion.

That has been the consensus from both Caribbean Fashion Style Journal and Judette Coward-Puglisi's 5 a.m. at Mango Media blogs.

The folks at CFStyle were not happy about some of the organisational glitches on the opening night - they had issues with getting accreditation, ticket-holders could not get into the event because it was full and the traffic scene outside of the Hyatt was federation, apparently.

For her part, Judette noted that the pre-event cocktail ceremony was in a too-small room, leading guests to feel 'claustrophobic' and designers were forced to stand because there was not enough seating.

However, both were agreed that the show itself - which is of course what it is all about - was sizzling.

CFStyle described it as a "tight and hitchless showing" while Judette declared that:

"[The] debut night of FWTT was so hot, it practically caused a fire with all the Caribbean style, fresh faces and nubile bodies."

We have gotten a glimpse of some of the pics from CFStyle, including Heather Jones fantastic wedding collection and thus far we would have to agree. But what do you think?

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Eric Holder may be the most prominent Caribbean descendant on the U.S. political scene right now but he's not the only one.

There are quite a few islandistas-by-descent who are on the political scene or the power behind the throne (as it were).

They all just happen to be hugely intelligent and educated, career-minded, successful and fabulous - in other words, the definition of islandistas, even if they are some way from home. These are no ordinary women - but would we expect less of daughters of the Caribbean?

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Here at islandista we get prouder each day as we witness islandistas around the world continuing to show the depth of talent and skill emanating from these tiny isles scattered along the Caribbean sea.

If she is chosen, Sotomayor will be the first Latina to sit on the highest court in the US and certainly the first Supreme Court Justice of Caribbean descent.

She is currently a federal appellate judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She was first named to a U.S. District Court in 1992 by Bush I and elevated to her current position by President Bill Clinton.

Sotomayor's parents Celina and Juan both emigrated to the United States from Puerto Rico sometime during World War II. Her father died when she was nine and she actually did not become fluent in English until after his death, because he spoke only Spanish.

Please don't forget her. Esmin Green is a potent symbol of what can happen when society is too cynical and too absorbed to notice people.

Esmin Green was the Jamaican-born former teacher-turned-New York City-housekeeper who died on the floor of King's County Hospital in Brooklyn. She had been waiting for care for over 24 hours when she fell from her chair and thrashed in distress on the floor for a long while and even tried to get back on her chair. But no-one came to her aid, even though several passed her by and she lay on the floor for an hour before a nurse realised she was dead.

However, that is not nor should it be the end. This is not a settlement. Ms. Green's family has made that very clear, with their lawyer Sanford Rubenstein saying:

“What remains most important to this family is the criminal culpability for those responsible for what happened and those who attempted to cover it up, which continues, after all this time, to remain under investigation by the New York City Department of Investigation. In no way does this settlement affect that investigation, and the family remains adamant in its demands that anyone who committed a criminal act with regard to the death of Esmin Green or the attempt to cover it up be prosecuted criminally to the full extent of the law.”

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Shocking and yet not shocking news out of Trinidad this weekend just past, islandistas.

I know you all know of Claudia Pegus, the Trinidadian designer and one of the grand dames of Caribbean fashion.

On Friday night, she and her assistants were held up at gunpoint in her atelier in Trinidad (not in Barbados, as the Observer's Tatler column claimed) and robbed as they were preparing for Fashion Week Trinidad and Tobago which starts on Friday.

So yes we was rheelllll (in emphatic Trini style) surprised to hear that British poet Ruth Padel who was Derek Walcott's main rival for the poetry professor post at Oxford has resigned from the post after... shock! being linked to the smear campaign against him.

Just nine days after being elected to the position, Padel stepped down on Monday after news came out that she had emailed journalists about the past allegations against Walcott.

The London Evening Standard printed the letter today, noting that even though one of their journalists received it two weeks before the smear campaign became public, they "did not wish to have any part in a smear campaign against the St Lucia born poet."

The letter, which ironically enough for a would-be literary don was filled with spelling errors, reads:

“Hi Olivia,

On the chair, there is still no other nomination except (so extraordinarily) Derek W and me. But thye close on 29th April so another or others may well turnup…

“There is aupposed to be a book called The Lecherous Professor, which has 6 pages on Derek Walcott's two cases of sexual harassment, which might provide interestigfn copy on what Oxford wants from its professors.. ALl best, Ruth.”

Of course, Padel is trying to take some of de shame off she face by claiming that the two letters she wrote to journalists were isolated and not part of a larger campaign.

At the Guardian Hay literary festival, Padel gave a press conference, saying:

"It was naive and silly of me – a bad error of judgement. I can of course see that people can misconstrue these two isolated emails of mine as part of a larger campaign I had nothing to do with."

She feels people will think her emails were part of the larger campaign... FUH TRUTE? YUH LIE! Where would people get that idea?

But de bold-facedness don't stop there. Padel said she was "trying in a misguided way to address student concerns" and that she "genuinely believe that I did nothing intentional that led to Derek Walcott's withdrawal from the election."

Monday, May 25, 2009

Fellow Bajan islandistas, former cadets and of course singers, Shontelle and Rihanna have apparently linked up in London and it is causing a minor tweet-storm (I think I just coined that phrase) in the twittersphere witha few loyal fans (and apparently a load of paparazzi) parked outside the hotel where they are both staying, desperate for a pic or autograph and tweeting updates.

As you would know from our post on Friday, Shontelle is in the UK on tour with Beyonce as part of her 'I Am' tour.

Apparently Rihanna has flown out to London town as well which explains the pics of her at JFK airport on Friday.

She and Shontelle have been tweeting back and forth since last night. A snippet of their exchanges:

According to fan/twitterer Patsy Travers, Rihanna left the hotel about two hours ago to go do a soundcheck, fuelling rumours that she will be performing in the London show of Beyonce's I Am Tour tonight. We'll stay tuned for that.

In other Shontelle-related stuff, here's a clip that her lil sis recorded of her performing her break-out hit 'Roll' in Birmingham over the weekend.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Chick-lit loving islandistas may well know of Tracy Quan, even if they haven't heard of her.

That's because Quan, born to Trinidadian parents in the United States (but raised in Canada) is the author-cum-central character of the (in?)famous Diary of a Call Girl series.

In truth and in fact, the central character of the series - Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl, Diary of a Jet-Setting Call Girl and Diary of a Married Call Girl - is named Nancy Chan.

But her life so closely parallels Tracy's that it is difficult to see the series as anything but semi-autobiographical. Kind of like V.S. Naipaul (who one of her character terms "that reactionary coolie' in 'Married Call Girl, but we digress) and 'A House for Mr. Biswas'.

Like Nancy, Tracy is of your typically pelau Trinidadian ancestry - a lot of Chinese with a bit of Indian, African and Dutch thrown in. Her Trini-ness is liberally scattered throughout the books, with references to Naipaul, Mighty Sparrow and wry quips on Trinidad's unique race relations, like the following one:

In Trinidad, people don't make adoring remarks about the mixing of the races. They either take it for granted ot disapprove. My Chinese grandparents disapproved and took it for granted.

Like Nancy, Tracy also worked as a call girl, ran away from home when she was a teen and decided upon her 'career' from a young age. According to her Wikipedia page, she (Tracy) read Xaviera Hollander's Happy Hooker when she was 10 and decided then to become a prostitute, liking the idea of being an independent and self-employed woman.

I kid you not. Like we said, she is an islandista we're intrigued by. Her views are unorthodox to say the least but in her writings she never sounds like she is making excuses for a lifestyle gone awry. She was ... a happy hooker.

Ok, ok, I really should not channel Eminem of all creatures for such a great occasion as this - the first black Attorney General of the United States of America visiting the island of his parents and foreparents.

That's right - US Attorney General and Caribbean son Eric Holder touched down in Barbados yesterday afternoon for his first visit since becoming the most powerful legal eagle in the USA.

Anyhow, Holder is in Barbados where his father Eric Sr. was born and where his maternal grandparents are from, for a three day visit. He's set to have talks with some CARICOM attorneys general and also speak at the official opening of the Tamarind Hall Municipal Complex in his father's native parish of St Joseph. On hearing he was coming, Barbadian officials promptly decided to name it after him - you know we don't lag on naming things for people here in de islands - look Antigua have a Mount Obama! Loves it.

Congrats. All the talk, at the end of the day, her success has paved the way for other young Bajan artistes like Shontelle and Hal Linton to get major label contracts.

Of course as ever with Ri-Ri, the fashion was the real star. She wore a single-button cropped kacket with some crazy-cool geometric and paisley prints and pair of leggings that we have seen described as "perforated" but to our minds (and eyes) are see-through... disturbingly see through. Check out the slightly NSFW fuller pic of the outfit below and let us know if you agree.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Brewster's Road held its first pre-Crop-Over warm up lime on Friday night and it was goooo-ood! I had friends who show up at the lime from all half hour before the 6 p.m. start and all when Saturday morning come, they were still there. Obsessive limers, I tell you...

Another Kadooment band has launched bringing the tally to three. DJ Andre 'Rebel' Elias is riding the wave of his Taboo Saturdays popularity and launching a band for the first time under his RebelVibes Entertainment banner.

The name of the band is 'Psychomania' and I must say, for a first time band, most of the costumes are looking quite nice. You know so often first time bands can look amateurish and a bit...ehhh.

Plenty lavishly feathered headpieces up in there and you know how we feel about feathers!

In other Crop-Over related news, Baje International has launched their 'Baje Girl 2009' search - deadline is May 29th. Below a quick screenshot of their ad.

Baje kills me. One of the blackest countries in the Caribbean and this is their representation of a 'Baje' girl? I guess a typical Baje girl isn't quite the same as a typical Bajan girl. Anyhoo, it could be worse... they could be Lights.

In other Crop-Over warm up news - Renee Ratcliffe's 'Jump' band is launching this Friday, May 22nd so we will soon have another band in the tally.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

An interesting story this week out of England about one of the Caribbean's most famous sons - Nobel Prize winning poet, Derek Walcott of St. Lucia.

Walcott was up for the post of professor of poetry at Oxford University but withdrew suddenly this week after an anonymous smear campaign was launched against him.

The poetry professor is an unusual post in that it is not exactly like what it sounds - a university professor. Rather, prestigious candidates are selected after their names are put forward by supporters and then the Professor is elected by a group that includes Oxford academics and anyone who holds a degree from the uni. The poetry professor serves for five years and is required to give three lectures a year.

Anyhow, the title is considered a highly prestigious honour but the wheels came off of the whole process this week when dozens of academics at Oxford were anonymously sent packets containing photocopied pages of a book detailing sexual harassment allegations of sexual harassment made against Walcott in the 80s and 90s.

We have to thank our readers for giving us a heads up when necessary. Jane Doe and Socamommy set us right in our last post with some useful tips.

Apparently, Ravurz is not the first Kadooment band to have launched. Harbour Lights (aka Blue Box Cart) launched their band on May 3rd with a showing at the club.

Funnily enough, there has been nothing about Lights' launch on the regular Crop-Over sites such as kadooment.com or cropovercarnival.com. There has been nothing in the paper nor even mentioned on radio - not even on Mix 96.

There is not even anything official on Harbour Lights' website.

It's almost... as if they did not want the general public to know that their band had launched.

So let me rephrase... Ravurz is the first band to let the general public know that they have launched.

There is not even anything official about the Lights launch on their Facebook page, Harbour Lights Crew. However, the enterprising Anja managed to snag some grainy pics from a friend who went to the launch so you can take a look at some of the costumes below.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

In fact, in St. Vincent and St. Lucia, whose carnivals fall on July 6-7 and July 20-21 respectively, the Carnival season is already starting to buzz.

Just For Fun, Toxik, Red Unlimited and Royalites are among the bands that have launched.

In fact, even in Antigua, where Carnival is not until August 3rd - the same day as Kadooment Day in Barbados, the band Myst launched since the end of April.

I like it - early launch, dat we seh! The artistes have been bringing out their music earlier and earlier every year - it is about time for the band leaders to start doing the same!

At least one band in Barbados has taken the hint and has already launched - Ravurz launched their band, seen below, this week.

Errmmm... not too sure about all of the fake flowers - flowers just never do it for me on a costume but the costume at the far right looks nice.

Anyhow, bands up up north have also been launching -Bacchanal Mas for London's Notting Hill Carnival is one and several bands for Toronto's Caribana have also launched.

This costume, 'Birds of a Feather' is from Tribal Nights and I lurrrrrrrrvvvvvvvvv it! Look at all of those pretty feathers... I have a thing for lots of feathers in a costume... I may have mentioned this weakness before. So this costume was a winner from me from the time I laid eyes on it... who cares if the side feathers mean that you have no peripheral vision? That's so overrated anyhow.

In other summer Carnival news - a bit of news and a bit of suss.

Starting with the confirmed news, Triple Queen Fay-Ann Lyons is set to make her first appearance since giving birth just after Carnival. She will be performing this weekend self in Toronto along with husband Bunji Garlin at Kool Haus. The comeback fete is being put on by Toronto's top soca dj, Dr. Jay.

I guess this answers the question of how long was Fay-Ann's 'maternity leave' going to be. On the one hand, no-one wants to leave a child that is just two months old.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Remember, Skerrit Bwoy, the Antiguan deejay/'dancer' we ripped a while back for his display of daggering (and table throwing) that has been youtubed around the world?

We weren't too complimentary of him, were we?

Turns out we hurt his feelings a bit because a commenter using the name 'the real skerrit bwoy' has responded to our post.

We'll give Jack his jacket ... he has at least explained his comments over on Mad Decent where it seemed like he was boasting and he has pointed out that his display appeals to his audience. See his response after the cut...

Shame on us - look how long we promised to bring you our take on the Met Costume Institute Ball and we're only now getting to it!

Trust, it has been a hectic week islandista-wise and other stories kept pushing our Met review further and further back.

So now, without further ado, here are some of the islandistas who graced (or in Naomi's case, was supposed to grace) the Met's Costume Institute Ball.

Rosario Dawson was as gorgeous and on point as ever in her coral column gown. I feel like she could have gone a little more high fashion though - the dress was pretty but it was not a standout on a night like that.

Model Arlenis Sosa was in an Alberta Ferretti dress with black booties. Maybe it's the picture, but this dress is not doing for me on Arlenis. You can barely notice the beautiful thread-like material of the dress and it just looks a bit shapeless on her.

One of our our favourite islandista models out there, Jourdan Dunn was fab in a gun-metal grey gown.

And Naomi Campbell did not actually show up to the Met Costume Institute Ball. There was a bit of a kerfuffle when her designer and long time friend Azzedine Alaia pulled the seven dresses he had made for the gala, after finding out that his work was not going to be in the exhibition. Alaia had made dresses for seven models including Naomi's fellow 'supers' Linda Evangelista and Stephanie Seymour. Campbell's spokesperson said:

As Naomi has been the muse of Azzedine Alaïa for 23 years, she feels she doesn’t want to attend unless she can represent his work.

However, Alaia did have a post-ball party and Naomi wore this aqua Alaia mini. We are ... not too certain about this dress. It fits beautifully and the colour is great but it reminds us of a mermaid. A very hot, statuesque, fierce mermaid, no doubt but it is still making us hum 'Disney's Under De Sea' very softly.

Monday, May 11, 2009

So remember a few weeks back when the news was that the two premier Jamaican Independence weekend events ATI and RTI would be combining and it was going to be the way it was back in the good old days before dem split up?

"What's really happening is that the strongest events in Negril have come together to make one band where the strongest will survive. So the so-called RTI band and ATI band that we're used to for the last two years as it stands, is now one band."

Turns out... not so much. Alex Chin of Absolute Entertainment, the originator of the whole ATI/RTI concept has let everyone know that RTI is still very much in the works for this summer.

In an interview with the Jamaica Star, Chin said:

"RTI is still on with the same parties except for Daydreams."

Actually, both Daydreams and Wildsides have gone over to NDW but RTI still has a tough line up, including Stages, Joker's Wild, Tempted, Pretty in Pink and Temptation Live.

Our sources say that the new (sort of) weekend holiday boys on the block are having a tough time getting sponsorship - as yet there is no title sponsor. However, it seems that corporate Jamaica has not committed to one or the other as yet since according to Chin, Absolute Entertainment is currently in negotiations with Red Stripe to maintain their title sponsorship and the details are being sorted.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Like it or not, the 80s fashion train keeps rolling on... and on. Isn't 20-odd years just a little too soon to be bringing trends back, though? Then again, maybe that is how people felt in the 90s when trends from the 70s came back in (boot cut jeans = bell bottoms as far as my mother was concerned) so it is our turn to feel old.

Just ... the 80s. Damn. That was such a sad decade for fashion, I really thought we would have skipped that one and just gone straight to the 90s. Ah well...

The latest trend from the 80s train? Distressed jeans - or damaged jeans as we used to call them or "what the hell is that - you buy new brand jeans that rip up already?!" as our mothers used to call them.

Distressed jeans are roaring in as one of the biggest trends of the summer. Though I have not spotted many chicks wearing the look yet here in the islands, it is only a matter of time as celebs galore, both islandistas and non-islandistas, have been rocking them with a vengeance in the last few weeks.

Rihanna of course has been at the front of the pack, wearing distressed jeans with anything she can find - blazers, corsets, jackets. Islandista-by-descent Cameron Diaz (ha! didn't know she was an islandista did you? Well she is - her late father Emilio Diaz was Cuban-American. Cameron however, no habla espanol) also wore distressed jeans to the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards a few months back.

Chicks have been doing everything from dressing them up to dressing them down, wearing them with sneakers or with stiletto heels, wearing them rolled up or just straight and everywhere from the airport to shopping to dinner at Mr. Chow's.

First, on Friday night, pictures leaked of Rihanna... all of Rihanna. Nude pictures that were allegedly hacked from her computer surfaced and quickly spread all over the net.

Her record company, Island Def Jam records has already asked at least one site to take down the pics, calling them "a violation of the artist's rights" and saying they are "unauthorised photos purported to be Rihanna".

And that is the question that is being hotly debated on every gossip site... are they? Def Jam's vague response is certainly interesting because it is not a flat out denial - they only say they are "purported" to be Ri-ri.

And what makes it all the more confusing is that you cannot see Rihanna's face in any of the NSFW (that means NOT SAFE FOR WORK so don't go opening them at work just so and then get shame, oui?) flat out naked ones, seen after the cut.

The girl is back. on. top. of her fashion game. The Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo suit with the leg-o-mutton shoulders sent the fashion chattering classes into a frenzy, especially since she was the last one on the red carpet.

Me? I'm loving it. Now, I know we ripped Estelle for the leg-o-mutton sleeves on her dress in another post but somehow Rihanna made this outfit look incredibly fierce. Though I pray leg o mutton sleeves do not become a trend, it worked in the particular circumstance - the most high fashion night of the year.

Paired with the slimmer silhouette of a suit and the androgyny of wearing a tuxedo suit in the first place, it was a loud pronouncement that Rihanna is back.

Gone is the distressing jherri curl-esque, Michael Jackson-reminiscent hair do she had been wearing for the past few weeks since the battering incident.

Either her stylist or her style sense has gotten a hold of her once more and she is wearing a dramatic yet sleek version of her previous Prince-esque pompadour with some blond streaks for added drama.

Since then she has turned out in a succession of sometimes eyebrow-raising and sometimes fab but consistently attention getting outfits, including this one she wore a few days ago to go apartment-hunting in New York

Love the combination of the rough-edged look of the distressed jeans with the soft pink cardigan and pink snakeskin heels.

Another fierce outfit was the white suit she wore to the opening of Derek Lam's new store, which got her a favourable mention on style.com the online home of Vogue magazine.

Friday, May 1, 2009

That was about all I could manage to say when I first saw the video above of Dutty Fridaze in Los Angeles.

As an islandista, I was just ashamed. The people making themselves look like complete savages. There are just so many ugly stereotypes bouncing up in that video, I can't even begin to mention.

First thought in my head 'This daggering thing gone waaaaaaaaaay too far now.' It's bad enough that idiots have been breaking off their penises attempting to dagger in bed. And if the men are doing that to their penises, imagine what this daggering is doing to women's wombs? *shudder*

Worse, daggering doesn't have anything to do with dancing, it is just vicious jucking. Heel and toe is a dance. Willie bounce is a dance. Nuh linga, gully creepa - all dem tings, those are dances. You actually have to have some co-ordination and rhythm to do them.

Daggering? Not so much. In fact, not at all.

Like many other people, including a lot of Jamaicans when the vid first popped up in inboxes or on FB or wherever, I thought the folks involved were Jamaicans.

But in checking out the dancehall sites like one876 and yardflex and thing, I found out that Skerritt Boy isn't Jamaican at all and a lot of yardies are veeeeeexxxxx that he is casting a bad light on them.

Skerritt Boy is actually an Antiguan deejay and ... 'dancer' - ye, I had to put that in inverted commas cos I ent know how pelting a table can be considered dancing. De man literally pelt a table and lick down de woman. wtf?!

His 'performance' was just awful, violent, disgusting and that, combined with his very tight pants and colourful hair, makes me wonder if this man even likes women at all?

What makes it worse (oh yea, there's more) is that this fool is actually proud of his now internationally televised idiocy. On a post about it on the maddecent blog, he had the nerve to boast about it:

"Gal get beat up when dem dance! I love dem. they love me. but i gotta express my love physically. i only hit you cause i love you girl."

Lord... I think some of my brain cells died just reading that damn foolishness but he ent fooling a damn soul with that 'I love dem'. I sure he would get frighten if he ever spy an exposed titty. Nobody can convince me that this fool likes women in any way.

Worse, pure people bigging up the man on his MySpace page, telling him he 'gone worldwide'.

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